any of several flatfishes having both eyes on the left side of the head, of the genus Citharichthys, as C. cornutus(horned whiff), inhabiting Atlantic waters from New England to Brazil.
13c., weffe "foul scent or odor," of imitative origin. Modern form became popular late 16c. with tobacco smoking, probably influenced by whiffle "blow in gusts or puffs" (1568). The verb in the baseball slang sense "to swing at a ball and miss" first recorded 1913.
[hwif, wif] 
